Lockheed gets $167M C-130 upgrade contract

Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) has been awarded a $167 million U.S. Air Force contract to develop a new block upgrade for the C-130J Super Hercules transport plane.

The enhancement, called Block 8.1, contains both software and hardware capability expansion.

It will be installed on all U.S. government C-130Js and C-130Js of operator countries that select the upgrade. The C-130J fleet is currently flying with the Block 6.0 configuration, while the Block 7.0 configuration is in flight trials.

C-130J aircraft are currently in production for the U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps, Iraq, Israel, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Oman and Tunisia. C-130Js are also flown by Australia, Canada, Denmark, India, Italy, Norway, Qatar, the United Kingdom and the U.S. Coast Guard.